The former student of a teacher whose license was removed for allegedly promoting Hong Kong independence said the instructor taught objectively and did not advocate a political stance.
The student told RTHK Tuesday that the teacher merely explained Hong Kong independence and the movement’s related activities. She said the teacher’s lessons deepened her understanding of Hong Kong law and freedom of speech.
On Monday, the Education Bureau announced that it had de-registered a teacher over “serious professional misconduct” pertaining to a lesson in March of last year.
The teacher’s class materials, including a worksheet that asked students “What would happen to Hong Kong if it no longer had freedom of speech,” allegedly propagated pro-independence messages.
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The teacher worked at Alliance Primary School in Kowloon Tong. The school had already completed an investigation of the incident in April this year and cleared the teacher of misconduct, adding that it would revise the syllabus if authorities felt it was problematic.
But the school’s internal investigation was superceded by a review carried out by the Education Bureau, which said the “twisted” education material had done “major harm” to students.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam said in a press conference on Tuesday that “if there are very tiny fraction of teachers who are using their teaching responsibilities to convey wrong messages to promote misunderstanding about the nation, to smear the country and the Hong Kong SAR Government without a basis, then that becomes a very serious matter.”
This marks the first time that a teacher has been de-registered for professional misconduct.
According to the city’s Education Ordinance, a teacher who has been de-registered is barred from teaching, working at a registered tutorial center or even entering school grounds without obtaining official permission.
At a press conference on Wednesday, representatives from the education sector, pro-democracy activists and lawmakers condemned the revocation of the teacher’s license as a chilling effect aimed at quashing the any semblance of opposition.
Calling the decision “unprecedented” and a case of political persecution, lawmaker Claudia Mo said: “[The Carrie Lam administration] is promoting their brainwashing education, so that the next generation of children are trained to become little robots that won’t shake their heads to say no.”
Isaac Chan, a spokesperson for newly formed group Education Breakthrough, said his group would be working with two teaching alliances to petition Permanent Secretary for Education Michelle Li and Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung to scrap the revocation of the teacher’s license.
“We call on everybody, whether you are parent, student or teacher, to stand up and safeguard the education sector and protect students’ rights to freedom of expression,” Chan said.
